Humans
The predominant people of Athas, humans--also known as the race of Men--number among the most populace, most versatile, most unpredictable and most dangerous creatures on Oerth. Fecund, adaptable and resilient, this race of wanderers, conquerors, explorers and inventors have spread far and wide, from the frozen northlands to the sweltering desert dunes. While their motives vary as much as the weather, humans can be relied upon for their persistence, imagination, resourcefulness and tenacity--traits that, for good or ill, have made them masters of much of Oerth. History None know where the first humans came from, nor do they know much of what they did in the early days. There is evidence that suggests that they were mostly nomadic hunter-gatherers who dwelled in cave systems and tree canopies. Wherever they originated, humans underwent a great migration and spread out all over the world. Some, who came from the north, sailed south, with many settling in one of the many islands along the way. Others traveled by foot and came upon the Dwarves and Elves, who were warring. Humans became involved and fought for both sides during the War of Wood and Stone. When the Burning Crusade came, the humans banded together with the Elves and Dwarves, forming the Great Alliance to drive them back. Upon their hard-won victory, the human were awarded a realm in the Treaty of Wood and Stone, which they named Thassilon. Over the next four ages, humans warred, traveled and explored until they became the adaptable and dominant race they are known to be today. Physical Traits Unlike many other races of Athas, humans come in a fantastic array of shapes, sizes and colors. From the cunning tribes of the deepest Mwangi jungles to the towering Dunn men of the northern Holds, the incredible range of human diversity results in appearances that vary widely even within distinct regional groups. The extremes of the possible human heights range from roughly 3 to 9 feet tall, with an average just shy of 6 feet tall for men and a few inches shorter for women. Human body shapes run the gamut from ovoid to twiglike, from muscular to flabby. Their skin can be as dark as obsidian or as white as fallen snow; their eyes can be of any color from coal-black or light gray; most often shades of blue, green or brown, but also gold and--among those with albinism--pale pink or even bright red. Human hair color ranges from purest white to deepest midnight, with shads of rich brown and black being most common, but fiery reds and shimmering blondes appearing among a great many people. These basic variations lead to huge inconsistencies in human standards of beauty--what one culture finds repulsive another might find irresistible. Senses Human senses are relatively dull compared to those of Athas' other Free People. They are not, as a rule, as alert of perceptive as other races, with senses of sight and hearing being duller than most beasts. Human civilization also tends to disconnect its members from nature, costing them insights that their more "primitive" brethren might retain. However, with training and exposure, humans can learn to adjust to any surrounding or environment. For instance, humans living for weeks in a rainforest might gradually learn to differentiate between different shades of green they could not have distinguished before, or to pick through the general rustle of the forest to identify specific sounds. This rapid adaptability allows humans to explore and understand a variety of new and changing environments with adroitness other races can rarely match. While many other races are well suited for particular biomes, few are able to adapt to meet new challenges quickly and thoroughly as humans do. Diet Humans are omnivores, and are thus able to eat a wide variety of foods. Spurred at least in part by their use of fire, they learned early to cook and prepare their food in sometimes extremely elaborate ways. They may be subsistence hunters who forage for anything vaguely edible or they may be kings whose every bite is an exotic delicacy. Humans can eat almost any kind of meat. Some humans make a point to eat unusual types of food, coveting exotic meals for not just the rarity of their tastes but also for the status consuming such meals brings. Speaking to the race's vast differences in cultural opinions are certain sects that teach the consumption of meats and dairy is unclean. Some go further still and refuse to eat any food or wear any clothes made from a living animal or the byproduct of a living animal. Clothing Human clothing is as diverse as the people, varying depending on the region and local culture. However, speaking to human's love of change, their fashions change on a fairly regular basis. Lifespan Humans are not as hardy as some other races: war and famine can strike down the healthiest human; illness and disease can drastically cut a life short; accidents can lay low those in the prime of their life. With exception care, luck and the right lifestyle, a human can live around 100 years, though those who live that long are rare indeed; most humans in Athas can expect to live about 60 years (but again, region factors heavily into this figure). A resident of a safe, sanitary cosmopolitan city can expect to live somewhere around 80, while a war-torn hunter in the wilderness see a dramatically shorter life: 45 or 50, maybe. When humans enter their adult years, they come into the peak of their physical power. As they enter middle age, they begin to lose some of their physical strength and speed, though their wits are often sharper and their spirits grow stronger. They begin to show signs of aging as whitening or thinning of the hair, wrinkles from the decreased elasticity of skin and increased recovery time from illness or injury. Upon reaching the age of approximately 50 years old, a human enters old age. Unless dyed, their hair is likely to be predominantly grey or white, and age-related illnesses like arthritis or gout are more common. Still, some humans remain active and strong, resisting age until the day they die. Other, perhaps due to infirmity, give in to the senility and slip away into the grey fogs of memory until at last, oblivion swallows them whole. Culture Humans live their lives in uncertainty and so try to construct permanence in their ever-changing lives. No matter how fatalistic or idealistic a human might declare himself, at his core, he is a strong survivalist by instinct, and few can overcome the inborn need to survive and thrive. Humans are a competitive species, full of ambition and though many declare that they wish nothing more than a comfortable life. Humans constantly push themselves to find new experiences, to live more fully within the confines. When they stop challenging themselves, they begin to die a little (although in a more metaphoric fashion than gnomes who experience the Bleaching. Human Dominion Humans dominate the nations of Athas and can be found nearly anywhere on Oerth--and sometimes they can be found wandering the extraplanar realms. Humans vast curiosity and ambition has driven them to explore and settle nearly every corner of the world and if they decide to set foot somewhere new then nothing can keep them away. Some have said that humans are pawns in the games of gods and elder beings, claiming that no race so young and short-lived could possibly have learned so much so quickly without divine assistance. But what these naysayers fail to comprehend is that while humans might not be born the best in any particular niche, they find a way to work around their limitations and to fill spaces that other races cannot. They have endless drive to understand and control the world around them. When they cannot solve or overcome, they create to tools to help them until they do. They study the ways of other races, devote themselves to the study of academia, art, tactics, athleticism, religion, science or magic. They open their hearts to the gods and integrate them into every aspect of their lives. Their tools are not merely physical, for they fashion implements of reason and faith as the occasion warrants. The simple truth is this: Humans are relentless once they have chosen a goal. Individual humans may give up or fail at a task, but once enough humans agree on a goal, success is almost inevitable. Whether literally moving mountains, harnessing slaves to erect massive monuments or devoting themselves to the construction of cathedrals they can never hope to see completed in their lifetime, humans are relentlessly stubborn. When faced with resistance, they bite and claw to overcome all opposition. To greater or more powerful creatures, humans must appear like ants: individually a mere nuisance but dangerous en masse. If the gods have specifically blessed humans with any single advantage is their fertility. Humans breed faster than any other humanoid race (except orcs) and their ability to overwhelm their enemies with waves of bodies is terrifyingly effective. In the time it takes an elven community to raise a single generation to adulthood, humans can populate whole new towns twice over--and they do so. Adventurers The reasons why humans enter the world for adventure vary as widely as humans themselves. Some do it for glory. Some do it for revenge on those who have wronged them or their loved ones. Some enter the trade because of a vision or a holy proclamation, some for academic knowledge and still others for the material gain. Some seek to build kingdoms, others to tear kingdoms down. They might journey because they simply need the work or to support their families with a lucrative, yet dangerous, profession. Humans adventure to rid the world of evil or to raise the standard of evil in every corner of the world. Others still might view adventuring as a rite of passage; a form of proving one's worth before joining a community. Love & Marriage Humans view love and marriage in very different ways, depending on the culture in which they were raised. Many humans view love as romantic and pure, while others see it as a way to create alliances and further the family's ends. While throughout most of Athas, humans tend to court and marry for love, there are places where arranged marriages are still the norm, especially among the upper class and nobility. Religion Humans are deeply spiritual or not at all. They run the gamut from religious zealot, to pious, to faithful nonchalance, to heathen, to outright non-believers. Many humans are very superstitious and respect or fear magic for its destructive potential. Humans tend to celebrate more religious holidays than other races, and humans have been known to start wars over the ideologies of faith, sometimes within the same church or religion. A Mwangi. Languages The language of humans is a vast and infuriating prospect, for unlike elves, dwarves or the other civilized races, humans do not have a universal, ancestral tongue. Instead, language seems to have developed regionally, and due to the short lifespans and extensive travels of the race, they have also developed many different tongues. Likewise, humans tend to adopt words from other languages into their own, and many learn a few additional languages to help them navigate their way through their confusing, multi-lingual world. While they speak many tongues, by far the most well-known and widespread of these in Westron, otherwise known as Common. This language, a strange mix of languages past and present, is spoken by nearly every civilized being in Athas and there are few, if any, who do not know at least a smattering of Common, enough to get around. Lost Kingdoms The marvel of modern empires found throughout Oerth, and Athas in particular, often rest upon the ancient, ruined foundations where even greater civilizations once held sway. 'Ancient Osirion' At its pinnacle, ancient Osirion stretched across the Varisian Peninsula and into modern Terminor, to the island of Orre and even portions of the Nelanther Islands, making it one of the largest human empires in history. Under pharaonic rule, the empire prospered through the sweat of slaves who raised monolithic monuments and pyramids dedicated to their god-kings. Eventually, these slaves became enraged at their abuse and foreign agents encouraged violent uprisings that eventually toppled the god-king's rule and tore the empire apart. 'Arthedain' Formed in the wake of the fall of Thassilon, Arthedain was the greatest and largest empire in human history. In its time, Arthedain stood as the pinnacle of reason, faith and art, producing many famous heroes, artists, philosophers, architects and teachers. While once noble and just, the kingdom slowly turned into a nation of greedy opportunists, whose backstabbing ways eventually caused the entire empire to collapse in on itself. 'Lirgerr ' This nation, standing originally in the south, just north of modern-day Avistan and Terminor in the time when Arthedain was still a fledgling nation in the wake of Thassilon's fall, is remembered for its skilled philosophers and prophets. Its leaders, the Saoc Brethren, consulted the heavens in all matters, from agriculture to religious ceremonies. For centuries, their talent for precognition enabled their society to flourish; however, their ability to foretell suddenly failed them when a storm whose equal had never been encountered on Athas hit their shores. This hurricane, known as the Eye of Abendego, brought ruin to their beloved nation, so the Saoc Brethren fled and upon their return found their beloved home nothing but wretched, fetid swampland. The Saoc Brethren, determined to find the cause of the hurricane, investigated--and took their own lives in a ritual suicide when they discovered the answer, the exact nature of which remains a mystery to this day. 'Sarkoris ' One of the first nations founded during the Hundred Years' War, it was also one of the last to fall before Spira claimed victory. A powerful, industrial nation, it was also a very spiritual country with a host of oracles and prophets at its disposal. This nation is said to have prophesied the modern political climate; through murals and haunting orations, its strange mystics spoke of ascendant chaos, a thinness between worlds and the rise of a new order they called "The Greyness". They were a staunch people who held lands mostly around the Blue Sea, with its back to the Northern Wastes. 'Shory ' Founded during the Hundred Years' War, the legendary aeromancers of the Shory were said to be able to fly, and it is said that they created flying machines and blimps, much to the delight and terror of the lands touched by their swift-moving shadow. The magic they used to power these contraptions remains an inscrutable mystery to this day and modern scholars continue to marvel at the drawings and accounts of these machines. They were one of the first nations defeated (through a combined effort of five other realms) and their machines were all destroyed. That land became the mostly hotly-contested territory of the entire war. 'Terkitanin League' Caught in the southern badlands in the wake of Osirion's fall, this federation of semi-independent city-states banded together for mutual survival. The League's desert raiders were legendary for many centuries and the League was famous for its silk, exotic crafts and gladitorial games. It was eventually absorbed into Terminor after the Dwarves came down and settled the region, after a brief but bloody war. There is no ill-will in modern times, though humans native to Terminor are still known as Terkitans. 'Thassilon ' The Thassilonian Empire, while founded in the wake of the Treaty of Wood and Stone, rose to prominence on back of the prudent and powerful KIng Gladios and the Seven, the most powerful wizards alive in those days, and Gladios ruled well and fairly and he appointed his Seven as Magistrates throughout his empire. After his death by magical immolation, however, his magistrates--more commonly referred to as Runelords--seized his domain for themselves after slaughtering the royal family. These seven maniacal arcanists, who used magic to fuel their own decadence, twisted Gladios' seven virtues of rule into seven deadly sins: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and wrath. Turning the once noble empire into a cruel playground bent on sating their boundless egos, these megalomaniacs scarred the very landscape with cyclopean monuments wrought in their own images. Though there were likely different people who held the titles of Runelords, it is also speculated that their corrupt magic extended their lives unnaturally. They were eventually defeated by the Arthedane Alliance, with assistance from both the Dwarves of the northern holds and the Elves. 'Yamasa ' The proud and primitive nation of Yamasa once controlled much of the trade along the eastern reaches of what is now Rikea and Rath. Riding across their plains for many years as semi-nomadic bandits and raiders, the Yamas were finally conquered by the great Rathas Khan, who united the people and formed their own country, today known as the Steppes of Rath. Ethnicities Humans are hardly uniform. Just like their motivations and capabilities differ by the individual, so too do their physical features. There are, however, a number of ethnicities that humans fall into, depending on their region and ancestry, They are described (in brief) below. Forthcoming articles will go into more detail about each individual ethnicity. Kellids Northern Wastes Brawny, dark haired folk who bear the scars and weathering of rough lives spent in the open. Their eye color tends toward black, blue or steel gray and their flesh is generally either ruddy or tanned. A Kellid who doesn't have a story to tell in his body's scars is a Kellid who has succumbed to the pleasures of a comfortable life and is rightfully held in distrust by his kin. Also known as "Northern Barbarians". Hlondic Hlondeth The typical Hlondic is tall and solidly built, with high cheekbones, broad shoulders and pale-ruddy skin. Their hair (often white by their 20's) is often worn long and in braids or other elaborate styles and decorated with fine jewelry. Imperial Spira, Rikea, Impiltur Imperials generally have long hair, ranging from dirty blonde to black. Their skin can range from fair to bronze, depending entirely on the region they hail from. Their eyes tend to be small, but expressive with green, gray, blue or more exotic coloration, like amber. Imperials also run the gamut in terms of build, but most are tall and relatively well-built. Karatan Kara-Tur Karatans tend to be smaller and slighter than the races of Athas. Men rarely grow taller than 5' 06" while women barely break 5 feet in height. Most have dark hair and eyes, though children are occasionally born with a shock of silver or white hair, which is an omen associated with greatness. Their skin tends to have medium complexions and their eyes are almond-shaped and often slanted. Mwangi Mwangi Expanse, Island of Orre Mwangi have dark skin--ranging from mocha to black--and dark, rough hair. They tend to be either extremely tall and lanky, or very compact; almost dwarf-like. Mwangi tend to have expressive mouths and generous smiles. Their dark eyes tend to be large, as fo their noses and they have high cheekbones. They favor colorful, loose-fitting clothes. Nelantic Nelanther Islands Nelantic folk are very short, generally reaching a maximum of about 5'09" for the tall specimens. They often have very dark and tanned skin, with uniformly dark hair and eyes, which are slanted and almond-shaped. They tend toward being stocky and well-built. Also known as "Western Barbarians". Nimabli Nimbal They tend toward dark hair, short stature and pale skin--skin lighter than that of their darker Imperial cousins. Red hair is often seen as evidence of strong ties to diabolic influence, which can be a boon or a curse depending on one's actual affiliation. Nimbali have sharp features--narrow jaws, strong noses and thin, arched eyebrows. Rathan Steppes of Rath Rathans tend to have deeply tanned skin that some Imperials refer to as "red", though it by no means is actually red. Their hair, usually worn long and either in ponytails or mohawks, is almost always black, though shades of brown are not unheard of. Their cheekbones are high and eyes are small and dark. They tend toward large ears. Rathans are also generally tall and leanly muscled, and are excellent runners. Also known as "Eastern Barbarians". Saxon Saxons are quite tall, with men starting at 6 feet and women just a few inches shorter, and they are often broad, muscled and well-built. Their skin is pale and their hair blonde, light brown or red. Both men and women wear their hair long and in braids. Men usually wear beards. Shoanti Avistan, Island of Orre Shoanti possess widely varying skin tones, from deeply tanned to dark brown, although most are of a ruddy complexion. Hair is considered a dangerous weakness in hand-to-hand combat, so both men and women typically shave their heads, save for shamans and chieftans. They tend to wear leathers, skins and feathers. Also known as "Southern Barbarians". Terkitans Terminor, Hardby Terkitans have high cheek-bones, wide mouths and tanned skin, with uniformly black hair and brown or even slightly golden eyes. The men tend to grow beards. Their clothing ranges from gauzy silks to practical linen and cotton robes, with headdresses, veils, and turbans common to keep sun and sand out of their hair and eyes. Varisian Avistan Varisians have dusky skin and large, expressive eyes that are often of strange colors, such as violet or gold. Their hair color ranges widely, from platinum to blonde, to deep reds, to brown to black--very few hair colors are considered unusual for a Varisian (though black is the most common). They tend to be a lithe and long-limbed folk, and men often have trouble growing facial hair. Category:Races Category:Free-People Category:Native of the Material Plane